Baseball still has its hook in Figgins

Graphics

GLENDALE, Ariz. Fishing is Chone Figgins' favorite pastime. But he wasn't ready for it to be his full-time occupation.

Nonetheless, Figgins found himself with plenty of time on his hands last summer. Cut by the Miami Marlins in spring training, Figgins went home to Florida where he fielded few calls from major-league teams — and none offering him a big-league job.

“It (was bad),” the former Angels leadoff man, popular super-utility player and one-time All-Star said with a pained expression on his normally bright face. “Other than the things that happened in Seattle, that was probably one of the hardest times in my life, not to play — especially after having a good spring training and then nothing being available? That was hard. That was extremely rough.”

Those “things that happened in Seattle” are the reason Figgins found himself without a job and in camp with the Dodgers this spring as a nonroster invitee. He's trying to resurrect his career at age 36, and fight his way through a thick group of bench candidates and back onto a big-league field for the first time since 2012.

Figgins left the Angels after the 2009 season, signing a four-year, $36 million contract with the Seattle Mariners that quickly became an albatross.

He hit .259 his first year, then .188 and .181 the next two seasons, spending less time on the field.

After the 2012 season, the Mariners released him, swallowing the final $8 million of the contract.

“It was like they wanted a different player than who I was,” Figgins said. “And I allowed it to happen.”

Figgins said he has no regrets about the move to Seattle. He also has few answers about not being able to make a bad Marlins team last spring. He thought he had played well enough to make their roster — or at least get a call from another team offering a job.

The only calls were uncertain offers about going somewhere to play in Triple-A until a need arose “and I wasn't going to do that to some young player,” Figgins said.

He traveled with his wife, visiting her native Chile, but staying in shape. By the end of his lost season, Figgins had decided he would work out for scouts during the winter in hopes of landing an invitation to someone's spring camp.

He did that Jan. 15 with about 10 teams sending scouts. The Dodgers sent Vance Lovelace, vice president for player personnel and a close adviser to General Manager Ned Colletti.

“Usually a guy with 10, 12 years in the big leagues or whatever — you go see a guy's workout and he'll do, like, 10, 15 minutes,” Lovelace said. “This guy worked out for a good 45 minutes. He ran the 60 (in 6.3 seconds, according to Figgins). He hit from both sides of the plate. He was a one-man infield but he took balls in center field, he took balls at third base, he took balls at shortstop, second base. It was the full gamut.”

Figgins joked it was “a full high-school workout” but acknowledged it was a very humbling “reality check” for an 11-year major-league veteran.

Figgins might have done his best work afterward.

With the scouts standing around, Figgins opened his heart and spoke about his passion for baseball and desire for another chance to play.

“It was something I'd never heard before,” Lovelace said. “It was one of those deals where he thanked all the scouts for coming out and said, ‘The last three, four years was what it was. I'm here to show you I'm ready to play, I'm in shape and I just want an opportunity.' ”

Figgins said his speech was simply a heartfelt, spontaneous statement.

“It just kind of came out,” he said. “I just wanted to let them know it's still there. I was just like, ‘Go back and tell your bosses. … It's still there. I didn't have a job last year but it's still there. You want me to come in and compete for a job? I'll do it. I wanted you at this workout to see for yourself. I can still run and throw and hit.'
”

Figgins said he was contacted by the Red Sox, Twins, Yankees, Rays and Dodgers.

The Rays were a preference because of Figgins' relationship with Rays manager and former Angels coach Joe Maddon. But they lost interest after acquiring utilityman Logan Forsythe in a trade.

Figgins took the Dodgers' offer because of the greater opportunity for playing time on a National League bench.

The Dodgers are rebuilding that bench this spring and were looking for fallback alternatives if infielder Alex Guerrero is unable to hold down the second-base job.

“I talked to Don (Mattingly) before signing,” Figgins said. “I was, like, ‘Look if I come in, you're going to get the player from Anaheim. I'm not going to veer off from that. I'm going to see pitches. I'm going to bunt. I'm going to go first to third. I'm going to play defense. That's what you're going to get. You're not going to get something totally different from that. If that doesn't fit your program, I'll go somewhere else.'
”

The Dodgers would be more than happy to take the player from Anaheim. But Mattingly said he's not sure what to expect from Figgins after a year away from the game.

Figgins is fine with having to prove himself. He jokes about being “on the second field again,” not on the main field with the front-line players. He has already looked around the second field and assessed the competition.

“Brendan Harris — I know he was with Anaheim. He's always been a solid player,” Figgins said. “(Justin) Turner — he's always been a solid player. Dee (Gordon) is a young, good player. The Cuban kid (Guerrero) looks like he's confident. But as far as if you need somebody to move around and do things? Nobody better than me to do that.”

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.